Dissonance
by A Spot of Bother
Summary: And the ties that bind them are so very fragile. /RoxasRikuRoxas. Drabble-ish. For Sule./


(A/N): Birthday fic for Sule, because over a year later she's still one of the sweetest people I know. I tried to write this so many ways, and I'm still not sure I didn't butcher their characterizations to hell and back, but I got inspired browsing through your dA page and thought I'd like to give you a RikuRoku fic this year. This is probably the closest to a happy fic involving these two I can get. I hope you like it, hon.

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Dissonance

They fought back to back, the Heartless pressing in against them in a steadily tightening circle. Riku could hear the Nobody's breathing, deep and even despite his exertion, could picture his face underneath the dark hood – cheeks flushed just slightly with the excitement of battle, eyes lit with something heartbreakingly close to emotion.

A Neoshadow leapt at him. Riku spun away from it, felt Roxas shift with him and suddenly the Nobody was there to meet the Heartless, Oblivion shearing through the shadow with no apparent effort. The blond's eyes flashed across Riku's for a moment, and Riku felt his lips curve in response to the unspoken message: _We're getting good at this._

A steady rain began to fall, drumming hollowly on the top of Riku's dark hood. The harsh neon lights refracted through the droplets that arced off of Riku's blade as it swung through the air. He and Roxas spun and danced around each other, dark coats whispering against one another, and the Heartless dying in droves around them.

At last, the final shadow fell. They stood, panting, for a moment before Riku met the Nobody's eyes with a smirk. "Not bad."

Roxas's eyes narrowed for a moment before he dismissed his Keyblades with a small sound of impatience. "They only show up because you're here," he muttered, pushing his hood back and stepping forward, placing a gloved palm over Riku's chest, where his heart was still thrumming with adrenaline. "What, you miss me that much?" The Nobody's lips crooked into a smile that was almost but not quite like his Other's, and Riku grabbed his collar and yanked him forward into a kiss.

"Don't look at me like that," he murmured against the blond's lips.

"How should I look at you then?" The Nobody didn't give him a chance to answer, pushing him against the wall and pushing Riku's hood back far enough to snake gloved fingers through silver hair.

Riku sighed and brought his own hands up to tangle in the Nobody's pale locks. He was only dimly aware of the rain plastering his hair to skull and working its way down the back of his coat – he concentrated on the feel of Roxas's lips against his, on the scrape of a tooth against his tongue and the damp wall pressing into his back.

Roxas knew about Sora, of that much Riku was certain. How _much_ he knew – or thought he knew – Riku wasn't as sure of. He sometimes wondered if this whole thing wasn't just an act on Roxas's part, an elaborate scheme to learn whatever it was he thought Riku knew; but at moments like this, Riku couldn't bring himself to care.

Besides, he had secrets of his own.

A dark portal ripped open in the street next to them, and Roxas grinned (it wasn't even vaguely reminiscent of any expression of Sora's) and drew a finger down Riku's collarbone, tracing the outline of a heart on his chest. A half dozen Neoshadows emerged from the dark opening, and the Nobody pushed away from the wall, Oathkeeper and Oblivion singing into life in his hands. "Think you can keep up?"

Riku smirked as he drew his hood up around his face again, and Roxas spun toward the Heartless, Keyblades drawing sparks from the wet pavement. Riku held back for a moment, watching the Nobody fight.

Roxas didn't know it, but the restoration of Sora's memory was almost complete. Sora needed Roxas to be completely whole again. And Riku would have to be the one to bring the Nobody to DiZ.

But in the meantime, he was only human.

Roxas glanced over his shoulder, blue eyes flashing with what might have been impatience, and Riku summoned Way to the Dawn and ran to join him in battle.


End file.
